Defiance
by Zoe Napalm
Summary: There's nothing like being beaten, bound and dumped in the wilderness mid-winter to help catch up on some brotherly bonding. Can the boys make it out alive? Tony/Tim friendship fic.


Defiance

by: Zoe Napalm

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to CBS, those lucky jerks! If it _did_ belong to me, oh the changes I would make!

A/N: This takes place before the end of the last season so Vance is director!

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Chapter I:

A Mean 'Ol Wind

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"I think we done gone far 'nough. 'Aint no one gonna found 'em out here."

Tony shuddered. He wasn't sure he had ever heard a more painful mutilation of the English language. But that's what he got for taking an assignment in the boondocks of West Virginia.

"Yup. Nuthin' but them bears we saw two weeks back."

It was almost enough to allow him to forget the splitting headache and that fact that his arms were tied painfully together behind his back.

"Damnit, ya dimwit, watch the road!" The van lurched, unsteady on the dirt road that was riddled with potholes and debris.

Tony was further reminded of his current predicament when his hard skull crashed into McGee's own. His eyes watered, seeping into the filthy blindfold, and he momentarily struggled with his bonds, trying to lift a hand to the back of his battered head.

"Geez, McGiant Head. How do you lug that rock around?"

Tim jerked his own bonds, giving Tony a sharp tug. They were sitting back to back, their arms tied together in a most awkward manner.

"Your the one to talk, Mr. Concussions. You should have severe brain damage by now. On second thought, that explains a lo-"

"Quiet back there!" The large, bearded man turned back, eyeing the two agents as he lifted a pistol and pushed it against the metal grate that separated them from their captors.

"If I didn't think it'd be more amusin' for you boys to die out there, I'd shoot you dead right here in this van, ya hear?"

Tony chuckled despite the threat.

"Well, shucks. Sounds like someone's got to follow orders like a good little lackey."

McGee winced slightly as a loud bang resonated through the flimsy van's interior. The man banged his meaty fists against the grate and though he couldn't see, Tim was sure the man's face was a flattering shade of red. Tony had that effect on people.

"Boy, if I wanted y' dead y'd be dead."

"Does _anyone_ find that accent threatening? I mean, c'mon, it's like being reprimanded by Granny Moses."

Tony launched into his best Beverly Hillbillies impression, which wasn't too horrible in McGee's opinion.

"Stop the damned car, Earl. We're dumpin' these idgets right here."

The van screeched to a halt, skidding a few final feet over the rough, snowy terrain. The two agents listened as the men got out of the car, slamming their doors, leaving them in silence for a moment.

"What are you doing, Tony? Trying to get us killed?"

"Relax McGiggles, the sooner we stop the closer we are to our last contact point."

McGee shook his head. Tony tended to always have a reason for his idiotic behavior but it never failed to surprise him, or anyone else for that matter, when it proved productive.

"Well I'd appreciate it, Mr. Bond, if next time you would let me in on your "plans." His voice was laced with sarcasm and he felt a twinge of annoyance when Tony scoffed in response.

"A gentlemen never tells, lad." Tony couldn't resist the opportunity and gave McGee his best Shawn Connery. It was widely agreed that it was by far on of his greatest talents taking a close second to finding a way to injure himself.

The van doors swung open, interrupting Tony's tirade. A cold wind blew in and the two agent shuddered involuntarily. It was much colder in the mountains than it had been down in Charleston and Tony found himself cursing his thin suit jacket as images of he and McGee huddled together assaulted his mind.

"See how you like us now, boy." Tony felt himself yanked out of the van and thrown to the dirt; he couldn't help but grunt as McGee landed awkwardly on top of him.

"Git up." When they didn't comply the man lashed out, his steel toed boot landing in McGee's ribs. Tony tensed as McGee gasped and they were abruptly flipped on their sides with the brutal kick. As Tim coughed, Tony felt a sudden surge of rage towards their captors and kicked at where he thought one of the men to be.

His kick landed with a sickening crunch and he felt something below his foot give before quickly popping back into place.

"Argh! My damned knee! He broke my damned knee!" It was the other man, the smaller one, the one without the gun.

Tony felt the ground shake lightly as the injured man fell down next to him, howling in pain and undoubtedly clenching his hyperextended knee. He allowed himself a moment of self satisfaction before the inevitable.

Stars exploded before his eyes as a swift upwards kick caught his jaw. He felt his mouth fill with blood and he fought the urge to promptly pass out and allow McGee to deal with this mess.

However, DiNozzos didn't pass out so that was clearly not an option. He also secretly feared what Abby would do to him should he let something horrible befall her Timmy.

"Shoot the bastard!" The man still howling on the ground growled.

Tony felt himself being hoisted to his feet by a pair of meaty hands and a still oxygen deprived McGee was forced to his feet as the man he was bound to was lifted upwards. He fought the urge to vomit at the abrupt change in orientation and allowed his head to loll back into Tim's.

He heard the sharp click of the man's gun and he felt his headache dull for a moment, the adrenaline coursing through his system.

"Either one of y' pulls that shit again and I'll put a bullet through your heads."

The two agents tripped as the man shoved them forward and off the road into the chill of ankle deep snow.

"Git up, Walt." They listened as the man struggled to his feet and the gravel crunched beneath their shoes, one in an awkward limping pattern.

Tony flinched away as he felt a giant hand grasp at his blindfold. He couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut as the overly bright world was revealed to him after hours of darkness.

He watched the beefy man do the same with Tim and took the opportunity to take in everything he could before they made their next move.

The man with the gun was, for lack of a better word, gigantic. His face was red from the cold and he sported a large, bushy beard that ended just below his adam's apple. He couldn't have weighed less than 300 pounds and his frame was that of a line backer.

Without a gun Tony wasn't fond of the odds with this man.

The other man was smaller but not terribly so. He leaned over awkwardly, grasping his clearly swollen knee, and looking positively infuriated. His face was rough with a days stubble, save for a line down his right cheek that looked to be a scar. His nose was a twisted, broken mess; a sure sign that this wasn't his first 'job' and that though his previous captees had fought back, he had won in the end.

"Just shoot 'em and git this done with." The man struggled on his shattered knee, waving an angry hand at the two agents.

"No, we leave 'em out here and let 'em suffer. Like I said, 'aint no one gonna find these boys out here."

"You've never met Gibbs." Tony thought his ears deceived him as Tim spat the words. Tim was usually the one who knew when to keep quiet.

"I don't know who Gibbs is but trust me, son, he won't find you before them wolves do."

"Quit playin' and do it, Jed!'

The man called Jed turned around and pushed his injured companion back against the van.

"We're doin' this my way, so y' best shut yo' mouth." The man relented, leaning a hand against the bumper, clutching his aggravated knee.

"At least let me have my ends, thas' all I'm sayin'." The man's gravely voice was filled with pain as he pleaded with Jed.

"Fine. But don't do nothin' stupid." Jed thrust the gun into Walt's shaking hand and pushed him towards the two agents who stood with an absolute air of stubbornness.

Walt pushed his gun against Tony's cheek and chuckled as the agent glared at him defiantly.

"An eye f'r an eye," The man allowed his aim to wander lower, "a tooth f'r a tooth..."

He cocked the gun, aiming at Tony's right leg.

"A leg f'r a leg."

Tony's shouted as his leg gave out from under him as a searing pain ripped through his leg. He could feel hot blood run down his leg ad begin pooling in his shoe and around his foot. He gasped as he struggled to remain upright. He knew if it weren't for McGee he would have lost his footing.

His muscles burned as he tried to fight back another onslaught of nausea and his shoulders shook as his hands pulled against their bonds, wanting to find their way to the bleeding wound. Over the ringing in his ears he could hear McGee shouting his name.

"I reckon' your right, Jed. This way 's a lot more interestin'."

"At least untie us, damnit!" Tony would have head slapped McGee had he been able. IF they had even been entertaining the idea of untying them before, they certainly weren't going to now. Tim had shown them he was desperate an they were going to use it.

Jed let out a loud, booming laugh that sounded extremely out of place in their current predicament.

"Oh, I needed that." He slapped his knee and gathered a now panting Walt, pushing him to his feet.

"Get in, Walt. We don't wanna be stuck out here come sundown."

Walt stumbled back to the passenger side of the van without a word. The pain was clearly to strong for him to add his last two cents.

"Well, boys. 'S been a pleasure." He looked down at Tony whose eyes were clamped firmly shut, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face, mingling with the blood at his chin. He gave him a light kick and chuckled once again as the fallen agent kicked out once more, this time missing his mark.

"As for you," he looked over at McGee who was staring at him from an awkward crouch as though he could kill him should he think hard enough, and pulled back one of his absurdly large fists, "a parting gift."

With all his strength he drove his fist into Tim's cheek bone, splitting the skin and causing him to fall to the side, no longer able to support himself or Tony.

"Good luck boys, y' aint but 100 miles out and there ain't been a hiker in these parts for years."

He spat down at the incapacitated agents and sniffed, clearly satisfied. He climbed back into the van and turned the truck around, spitting gravel at the two injured men.

As the sounds of the van became too distant to hear, the wind howled and the sun began to set.

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I apologize for the short length but it's meant to be a sort of preface chapter. More details to come concerning what these poor boys were doing before they got captured but it's more of a brotherly bonding story sans plot.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Please read and review as it will motivate and help me!

Asante Sana!


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